The heavyweight division of boxing hasn’t been this exciting since Mike Tyson days, with “The Bronz (not Bronx) Bomber” Deyontay Wilder, “The Gypsy” Tyson (not Mike) Fury, and Anthony (the undisputed champ recently upset and upended) Joshua providing intrigue and punishing fights — the Wilder vs Fury fight especially a knock-em-down fight for the ages.
And so it is with the Houston Astros and NY Yankees — two world-class heavyweights throwing haymakers at each other for the second straight game, to a playoff atmosphere on a beautiful June evening in the Bronx.
The Starters Pitched Shutout to the 5th
The starters, Masahiro Tanaka and Wade Miley — matched each other throwing shutout ball for the first 4 innings. In the bottom of the 5th, Gio Urshela started off the scoring with a 2-run homer.
There it is: 2⃣5⃣ straight games with a homer. We've tied a franchise record 🔥💪 pic.twitter.com/PzjDnBrznn
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) June 23, 2019
Houston right fielder Josh Reddick threw a haymaker back with a 2-run homer to tie it in the top of the 6th. Tanaka got out of the 6th when catcher Max Stassi singled to right but Aaron Judge punched him out with a overhand to 2nd.
*bangs gavel* pic.twitter.com/tK9ixHuH1D
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) June 23, 2019
Exchanging Haymakers
In the bottom of the 6th, the Yanks got to Wiley — DJ LeMahieu walked, Aaron Judge walked, Luke Voit singled and Giancarlo Stanton hit a smash single past 3rd base for 2 runs and a 4-2 Yankee lead.
Houston came right back with a haymaker — off Jonathan Holder who came in to pitch the 7th. Holder got the first two outs of the inning, but shortstop Alex Bregman singled, right fielder Michael Brantley singled and Yordan Alvarez hit a 3-run homer to right center — 5-4 Houston — pushing Holder’s ERA to 5.55 and causing Yankee Twitter to crucify him.
But this was a heavyweight fight and the Yanks immediately counterpunched — Austin Romine with a game tying homer to right in the 7th, then LeMahieu reached on an infield single, Aaron Judge got hit by a pitch, Luke Voit grounded the runners over, and Giancarlo Stanton hit another ROCKET past 3rd for two more runs and a 7-5 lead.
Oppo for Ro-Ro 🚣♂️ pic.twitter.com/nsCtwHbogo
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) June 23, 2019
Big G in a big spot. pic.twitter.com/DdVLEsoPYc
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) June 23, 2019
The Ballpen and High Anxiety
Adam Ottavino struggled through the 8th — striking out Jose Altuve on a called 3rd strike with two runners on. Zach Britton pitched the 9th — walked two batters in between two outs, then intentionally walked pinch hitter Robinson Chirinos to load the bases — and got 1st baseman Tyler White on a lineout to right and Yankee Stadium and millions of Yankee fans watching on tv let out a collective PHEW.
Jonathan Holder got the decision — a win. To Yankee Twitter’s chagrin.
The Boxscore
https://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore?gameId=401075881
Be the first to comment